He had failed a breathalyser test before running from police back to his Audi A4 and fleeing.

That happened on March 30 last year after celebrations to mark the retirement of a colleague at Venetia Williams' stables. He was jailed in May.

He has since returned to the saddle, under Mrs Williams eye, and has won half of his 12 races since December 30.

In an interview given to The Times today, Deutsch describes his time in prison in Bristol as 'pretty uncomfortable'.

"You can't really describe it but it's very hard," he says. "You read newspaper articles saying it's a bit of a picnic or whatever, but it's not at all - not that I expected it to be. It's pretty uncomfortable, as it should be.

"I don't think I'll ever forget the first night. It was just scary. You're not sure what's going to happen. I just thought to myself, 'Keep calm and keep a lid on it'."

Deutsch got a job in the prison gym and spent roughly four hours a day there to ensure he would be as ready as possible to seize any riding opportunities upon his freedom being returned.

"The gym was a fantastic part of it - the only good thing about prison - just to keep you sane," he said.

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"Otherwise you're just cooped up and you really would go mad. I would try to get in there as much as I could. The rest of it was just very boring.

"Somehow you are brought back to basics in there so, when you come out, everything is very vivid and there is lots going on. So you don't know what to do, really. I know it wasn't very long but it felt long."

Mrs Williams said Deutsch made a 'dreadful decision' that night in Cheltenham but the 58-year-old Grand National-winning trainer has offered him a second chance since his August release.

"She knew that I knew it was wrong and I was very remorseful for it. She was understanding in the sense that what has been done is done, I'm going to face the punishment and that's that.

"She has been great in supporting me and understanding, in a way, that just moving on is the solution. I didn't expect it to go quite so well as it has up to this point."

Back to that night in Cheltenham, and the subsequent court case that saw him jailed - where it was revealed in evidence that Deutsch told the arresting officer: “Please don't, this will ruin me. I'm a jockey. I have to drive 50,000 miles a year."

While his jockey licence has been returned, his driving licence hasn't - he gets that back in October. That means his girlfriend has become his 'saviour'.

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"It would be a nightmare but I'm very lucky that I've got my girlfriend, Meg, who has been driving me around," Deutsch said.

"We normally come here (Mrs Williams' yard in Herefordshire) every day so she will come in here, ride out, then drive me to the races. She has been a saviour of my career, I suppose.

"I didn't ask her to do it but she offered and I said to her, 'If you don't want to do it, just don't do it - I'll work something out.' Meg has really been amazing."